Posted by admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 09-03-2010
Gun cleaning is a critical activity for any gun owner. A gun that is not properly cleaning will become less accurate and may even malfunction. Here is a proven method for cleaning a gun.
When cleaning your gun, make sure to remove any magazines from your gun and make sure that it its unloaded. Check the chamber to insure that it is empty. At the same time check for any damaged parts.
After inspection, begin by field stripping your weapon. Most firearms are relatively easy to field strip, but you should consult your user manual to determine the proper procedure. If you cannot find your user manual, you may be able to find substitutes by searching on the internet. At the conclusion of your field stripping, you will typically have access to the barrel as well as any bolt assembly in the gun.
The first thing to clean is the barrel. Take a look down the barrel to make sure there are no obstructions. Then take a cleaning rod and place a cleaning patch at the end. If possible, make sure that you drag the cleaning patch towards the muzzle, not away from the muzzle. After a couple swipes, it is time to apply bore solvent to the barrel. The best way to do this is to use a brush attachment at the end of your cleaning rod that is dipped in the solvent. In the alternative, you can simply dip a cleaning patch in solvent and run it towards the barrel. Once the solvent has coated the barrel, let it sit inside the barrel for at least ten minutes before any further cleaning. This will give the bore solvent a chance to soak in and loosen the residue.
In the meantime, it is a good idea to move on to the remaining parts of the gun. You can start by cleaning the frame of your firearm. This can be done by spraying some gun oil on a cleaning patch and rubbing down your frame. You should make sure to get into the cracks on your gun, although getting deep into the action is not necessary. To get into the cracks you can use a brush to push your cleaning patch. The most important parts to clean are the pieces that move during firing, such as the rails on a semi automatic pistol.
When you have completed cleaning your frame, you must also clean any bolt assembly. Most firearms will allow you to disassemble the bolt assembly, which is a good idea for cleaning. Make sure to clean the area around the firing pin and ejector. If the residue is adhered too strongly, use a brass brush dipped in bore solvent to loosen the grime. Then finish off the cleaning with a cleaning patch sprayed with gun oil.
Now that the barrel has been sitting for more than 10 minutes, it is time to finish cleaning it. Run a brass brush on the end of your cleaning rod to remove and loosen the residue inside the barrel. Once you have done this three or four times, run a dry cleaning patch through the barrel several times. Once the patch is clean, you know that you are finished. If your barrel is particularly dirty, you may need to apply more bore solvent and repeat the above process.
After everything has been cleaned, give the moving parts a light coating of gun oil and reassemble your firearm. Make sure to check for proper function. Before putting your firearm away, rub it down with a silicone cloth to protect it from rust and to wipe off excess oil.
Adam Stenway is an experienced author and firearms enthusiast. Check out Adam’s latest projects about coat rack stand related products and upholstered dining chairs.
Posted by admin | Posted in Archery | Posted on 09-03-2010
Trophy Deer Hunting Using Archery
The activity and strategies of deer hunting have evolved over the years. Although archery is an ancient technique dating back to thousands of years, rapid strides in science and technology have made available some sophisticated archery hunting equipment that can greatly enhance your chances of catching that prized trophy deer. Modern equipment includes the compound and recurve bows. Old traditional equipment such as the longbow is still a favorite among traditional enthusiasts when permitted. Even disabled persons who are unable to draw bows have taken up the sport with the option of using crossbows. Some states such as Kansas and Minnesota allow the use of crossbows for everyone during firearm season. Alabama and Tennessee allow the use of cross bows for everyone. Most crossbows and bows offer accurate and effective ranges of 30-40 yards or more.
Archery has a distinct advantage over rifles and guns as archery season usually opens a few weeks or even months before a locality’s official gun season, and generally lasts for a certain period after the rifle season has ended. So, you can enjoy your gaming luck for a longer time span and enhance your chances of harvesting the trophy deer.
While you consider archery an option for gaming, you must remember that it requires a lot of practice. Only practice will help your back muscles to get in shape so that you can hold the bow at full stretch for up to a minute’s time.
While buying a bow, consider one with longer draw length as it will be able to cast arrows faster than a shorter draw length bow. You must also follow the manufacturer’s graphs and charts while selecting the right arrow for the bow type that you will be using.
It would be a good move to make an archery equipment tackle box to keep all miscellaneous supplies related to archery hunting.
While buying archery equipment, you should try to match all your gear and buy from the same brand as far as possible for greater compatibility among equipments. Always use quality arm rests on the hunting bows for greater comfort. It is also a good idea to have a peep installed on your bowstring, which should be at the eye level to help give your distant aiming some point preference.
If money is not an issue, there are some very good hunting stabilizers and vibration dampening aids in the market that will help keep your equipment steady while you are hunting. Bow wrist slings are also good for shooting accuracy.
Take good care of your archery equipment by waxing your bowstrings frequently. This prevents the arrows from fraying and helps them last longer.
Before going on your hunting expedition, practice with good quality archery targets to get accustomed to shooting in hunting environments. While hunting, you must camouflage yourself so that you blend in with the stand sites and hunting terrain, and the animals will not be able to detect you.
Don’t forget to use the safety harnesses correctly and follow the manufacturer’s directions for proper use.
The thrill of drawing your bow, releasing the arrow, watching it as it flies through the air and pierces the deer is an unmatched excitement, which is guaranteed to get you addicted. Good luck in your quest of the trophy deer and stay safe!
Troy Edwards is a deer hunting enthusiast, who enjoys helping others getting started or raising their game so they can harvest a true trophy class buck. His most recommended book, “Deer Hunting Secrets Exposed”, is packed full of all the most valuable secrets and techniques that the more experienced hunters keep to themselves. If you’re serious about getting better at archery hunting, be sure to head over to the site!
Posted by admin | Posted in Bow & Arrows | Posted on 09-03-2010
Bow hunting has become a popular sport throughout Europe and the United States. This is similar to regular game hunting as one will be searching and targeting live game and this is legal. Though bow hunting is considered as a sport; there are still some things to keep in mind.
Left hand bow hunting is no different from right hand hunting; the cardinal rule is for one to identify the right bow to use. The dominant eye determines if one is right handed or left handed in bow hunting. To be able to determine this is fairly simple; create a small diamond hole using the overlapping index fingers and thumbs, then one must focus on an object seen inside the hole while pulling the hands closer to the face. The hands will naturally be drawn to the dominant eye as the focus on the object will not change; when the hands are drawn to the left eye, the archer is a left hand bow hunter. Left hand bows are easy to find; it is held with the right hand while the string is drawn by the left. The simplest identifying mark is that the arrow rest is located on the left side of the riser and the left eye is used to focus the target on the prey.
In bow hunting, one must be able to remember a few factors to achieve successful hunting. First off is the location; one must be able to scout the area before the actual day of hunting. This will provide one the advantage of knowing the land and where the ideal and strategic post can be found; this will enable one to have a consistent advantage over the game. Doing this a few months earlier than the beginning of the season will enable the prey such as deer or rabbit to regain their confidence in their territory after it has been disturbed by those who have been exploring the area.
When venturing in to the new territory, particularly for the left hand hunters, it is important for them to be able to practice their line of sight and their drawing span; this will make sure that when they are in the actual hunt, no obstacles can hinder their hunting. On the actual day of the hunt, it is also vital for one to pack light and smart. Pack only what is necessary and make sure it will not become a hindrance nor will it create much noise when stalking the prey. Patience will also play a key role in bow hunting; as without this, there is a big chance that one will only spook the game away from where the hunter strategically stands. The most important tip in hunting is to check the bow and all its components before proceeding with the sport; this will ensure that no mishaps will happen in the course of the hunt.
There are many types of left hand bows available on the market today. If you are into hunting then the best choice should be to get left hand martin bows for honing your skills.
Posted by admin | Posted in Hunting | Posted on 09-03-2010
Most hunters accept the fact that the easiest time to kill a whitetail buck is throughout the rut. The reason for this is a consequence of the males being more likely to reduce their level of alertness whilst competing for the best does. This therefore is then the best period to go out to bag a buck, and add some meat to the freezer.
The rut starts with the males scraping the ground in close proximity to a branch of a tree all over their bit of forest or grassland. It is basically a scratch in the ground that should be seen by the rest of the males in the particular part of the woods or plains. The reason for this is in order to decide which male is the dominant male in that area. As the first male has scented the scratch in the ground (using his many glands for this purpose), the rest of the males will start to appear and begin the process of enlarging the scrape and adding their scent to the spot.
You’d think that, as you find a large scrape mark you’d think it could be a good spot to set up a stand and pass the time until the next bold male to stroll over. Sadly for us, bucks usually only wander through and leave their scents at night – which is unfortunate but is the most usual occurrence.
As the season progresses the males will begin the process of beefing up their strength by brushing and pushing their heads against trees and banks. This action helps and aids the process to scrape off the velvet-like material from their soon-to-be weapons, preparing them for the coming fights. The rest of the whitetail deer ought to see these signals, and also during this stage they begin to urinate in the marks. This therefore is without doubt the best time to be on the hunt for whitetail deer as at this moment their guard is down; they’re preoccupied on seeking females as opposed to being only concerned with being attacked.
The males will carry on to add their scent in scrape marks and leave their smell all over until a doe urinate in the scratch, the reason for this is it enables the winner to know she is ready to mate. Of course he ought to then have a look at these marks as often as he can.
It’s usually best practice to be out and about hunting for longer periods of time once the rut starts – the moment you begin to stumble upon the markings described above in the area. This process ought to improve your chances of spotting a great big deer while his alertness level is reduced. One good method to find out if rutting season is underway is to take a look at the hind legs of a buck. He has tarsal scent sacks there (that he urinates on) also otherwise known as hawks, and they tend to go darker throughout the rut.
The primary factor why the rut is the best time for hunting is a consequence of the males being distracted. They are concerned primarily on finding a doe and fighting with other bucks, giving the hunter a significantly bigger likelihood of bringing home a buck than at the other times of the season.
If you’re eager to raise your likelihood of shooting a trophy to be proud of this time around, you should be out in the woods as long as you possibly can. Also, try to keep in your thoughts that if you’re out to harvest a monster buck, don’t shoot the first one that crosses your path! It may seem obvious, but I think we’ve all done it! When you’ve been out there for the best part of a day you can easily settle for less. In a lot of situations this actually is what prevents us bringing back a mature male at all, this is a consequence of the more mature deer will most likely stay hidden in undergrowth or tall grass longer than younger deer and probably be spooked by the attack on the other deer.
Posted by admin | Posted in Hunting | Posted on 09-03-2010
Most hunting advice sources all over the web will tell you that the best time to maximize your chances of bagging a nice buck is the rut. The rut is the peak deer hunting time of the season when bucks and does will reproduce.
Starting in bow season, bucks will prepare for the rut by leaving scrapes all over the woods. A scrape is where a buck scratches the ground, leaving his mark for all of the other bucks in the area to notice. Its a method that bucks use to start figuring out who the dominant buck is. Bucks will always make a scrape under a limb. They do this so that they can rub their nose on it and leave scent. Other bucks competing for that area will come by, scrape some more, and smell the limb. So your probably thinking now that a scrape is a good spot to hunt a buck, right? Well, you are correct, but you have to understand one thing first.
For whatever reason male whitetail deer will make scrapes during the night. Is this a guarantee? No, but it is very common for a buck to do. Once fall starts coming bucks will begin to pee in the scrapes for other deer to smell. Bucks will also start rubbing tree’s with their antlers. They do this in order to rub the velvet off their horns, and leave sign for other bucks to notice. Bucks also rub tree’s in order to strengthen their necks for fighting during the rut. Once bucks start rubbing trees and stating their dominance, they start to let their guard down. This is why hunters are so successful at harvesting mature deer during the rut.
Bucks begin to worry less about predators and more about does. They begin to start roaming and begin to start being noticed. Once a doe is ready to breed, she will urinate in a whitetail bucks scrape which lets him know that she is ready to mate. So when he comes by to check his scrape he will notice. One more piece of hunting advice you should know is that bucks will urinate on their “hawks” formally called tarsal glands. These glands are on the insides of their back legs and will turn black when the buck is in rut. This is a great way of knowing that the rut is in full swing. Once the rut starts you need to start hunting harder and longer. That is longer hours in order to optimize your chances of seeing a trophy whitetail. Bucks will start wandering around trying to find a hot doe and when they do, they are rarely distracted. I hope these deer hunting advice tips will help you next season.
For more tips that could increase your hunting success, please visit deer hunting advice.
Posted by admin | Posted in Hunting | Posted on 09-03-2010
It is fairly common knowledge that the best time to harvest a whitetail deer is during the rutting season. This is because the bucks tend to lower their guard when they are trying to reproduce. This becomes then the best time to go out trophy whitetail deer hunting.
The rutting season begins with the bucks making scrape marks just under a limb of a tree all over their patch of the woods. It is essentially a scratch in the ground that will be noticed by other bucks in the same area. They do this to start establishing who the alpha male is. Once the first deer has left his scent by the scrape (by rubbing his nose on it), other bucks will come along and start making the scrape bigger and leaving their scent there too.
So naturally, if you find a large scrape mark you’d think it would be a great place to set up a stand and wait for the next big buck to come along. Unfortunately the deer tend to only make and check these areas at night. This is a shame, but it’s the most common habit.
As the season progresses the bucks will start to strengthen their neck muscles by rubbing their antlers against trees and bushes. This also serves to remove the velvet from their antlers, getting them ready for any potential challenges. Other whitetail bucks will see these signs, and also around this time they start to urinate in the marks. This becomes probably the best time to be out hunting for whitetail bucks as now their guard is down; they’re concentrated on finding does rather than worried about predators.
The bucks will continue to pee in scrape marks and leave their scent around until a female pees in the scrape, which lets the dominant male to know she is ready to mate. He will then check on these marks regularly. It’s usually a good idea to be out hunting for longer once the rutting season begins – as soon as you start to notice scrape marks around the place. This will increase your chances of finding a great big trophy while his guard is down. A good way to know if the rut is in progress is to check the back legs of a buck. He has tarsal glands there (which he pees on) also referred to as hawks, and they go black during the rutting season.
The primary reason why the rutting season is the best time for hunting is because the bucks are distracted. They are focused mainly on finding a female and contesting with each other, giving you a much greater chance than at other times of year.
If you want to maximize your chances of harvesting a trophy class buck this season, you want to be out in the field as long as you can. Also, keep in mind that if your goal is to take down a big buck – don’t shoot the first one you see! It seems obvious, but a lot of hunters get the buck fever and disregard their goal. In many cases this prevents them bagging a mature deer at all, this is because the older and wiser bucks will most likely stay in cover for longer and will be spooked.
I’m Troy Edwards and I run a free resource for both begginer and experienced huntsmen, mainly deer hunting – I add new strategies and tips to my hunting guide articles every week!
Posted by admin | Posted in Knifes | Posted on 09-03-2010
You must consider several factors when selecting knives for hunting. There are different knives for hunting available in the market. Your choice of knife should depend on the animal that you are hunting, the expected weather conditions and the number of people with you on the trip.
If you are going on a hunting trip with professionals who intend to carry firearms, then you do not need to buy an expensive knife. Using ordinary knives for hunting is enough when people in your group have firearms.
On the other hand, if you intend to hunt alone or if you are not planning to carry firearms, then you should have a strong knife specially designed for hunting.
The conditions in which you intend to hunt are very important. If you are hunting in hilly areas where it rains a lot, then you should not opt for a knife that rusts very quickly. Going in for a knife with a slightly blunt edge is a better option as compared to having a rusted knife that will poison any animal that it comes in contact with.
If you are planning to hunt an elephant, then a small pocket knife will not suffice. On the other hand, if you are planning to hunt a fast moving animal like a deer or a boar, then you cannot afford to have a heavy knife for hunting with you. The idea is to have a knife that can be unsheathed and used very quickly. Having a folding hunting knife in your pocket makes a lot more sense.
Make sure you get used to all knives for hunting that you have purchased well in advance. The last thing you want is to go hunting with a knife that you are not comfortable with.
Now Pay Close Attention Here
Folding knives can be excellent self-defense tools — provided you know how to use them. If you are trained on how to use one, OR are planning to get yourself one, kindly visit FoldingKnives.Biz
Posted by admin | Posted in Knifes | Posted on 09-03-2010
What are the different types of hunting knives available in the market? Can any and every knife be used as a hunting knife? You should know the answers to these questions before going on your first hunting trip. Hunting will be a very exciting affair only if you know the basics.
People often make the mistake of presuming that hunting is nothing but the act of killing the animal. That is only one part of a hunting expedition. After the animal has been hunted, you will have to either skin it or clean it in order to make it suitable for human consumption. If you are hunting deer, you will have to skin the deer so that the meat can be cooked and eaten. The skin will later be cleaned and used as a trophy. For this task, you will need a hunting knife that is specially designed for removing skin of a dead animal. Using a hunting knife that is designed to attack the animal for skinning will not work. Skinning hunting knives are designed and shaped in such a manner that the task of removing skin becomes very easy.
Of course, the hunting knives are available in the form of fixed blade hunting knives and folding knives as well. A popular misconception is that the folding knife is not suitable for hunting. That is definitely not the case. As long as the pivot of the knife is strong, you need not worry about the quality of the hunting knife even though it may be a folding knife. In any case, it is inadvisable to go on a camping trip without having a folding pocket knife in your kit.
Now Pay Close Attention Here
Folding knives can be excellent self-defense tools — provided you know how to use them. If you are trained on how to use one, OR are planning to get yourself one, kindly visit FoldingKnives.Biz
Posted by admin | Posted in Hunting, Paintball | Posted on 09-03-2010
Ever since man has had projectile weapons like bows and arrows or guns, he has been trying to find better ways to conceal himself and hide from his target in order to go undetected for longer and have the time to take a better shot. In ancient times, hunters would hide behind trees. Once military-specific clothing became common, they made camouflage material that was colored to make the wearer less visible when in specific environments (such as desert camouflage, snow camouflage, or forest camouflage). And in the last century, an even more high tech camouflage suit has been developed that will likely remain the most effective type of forest camouflage until cloaking technology is invented: the ghillie suit.
A ghillie suit literally turns the wearer into a walking pile of branches, bushes, and trees. The suits are made by attaching rough burlap flaps or jute twine to some sort of garment that serves as a base such as a poncho or jacket and pants. When wearing a ghillie suit, one tends to blend in even better to the surrounding for two main reasons:
First, the camouflage is actually made from the same material as the environment, as opposed to older types of camouflage where the clothing was just colored to match the surrounding. So if your target (whether the animal you are hunting or the guy on the opposing paintball team) sees a group of branches sticking out of a bunch, he won’t immediately think “hey, that’s a person trying to shoot me!”
Second, the human shape is distorted. The human brain processes shape, so if you see someone in normal camouflage hiding in a tree, your brain will still recognize that it is a human. But if someone in a ghillie suit is hiding in the same place, it won’t look anything like a human and the brain is less likely to recognize it.
This type of suit can provide very specific advantages for anyone needing to keep their presence in a wooded or forest type environment a secret.
Please visit the Ghillie Suit Store to learn more about ghillie suits.
Posted by admin | Posted in Rifles | Posted on 09-03-2010
Every Professional Hunter has his own way of hunting leopards and this article is about how I like to do it, and if your PH has his own set of tricks, please don’t think he’s not necessarily doing it the right way – he is just doing it his way.
I’m a perfectionist when it comes to hunting leopards and the reason for that is because they’re just so incredibly wary and clever creatures. Because of that we need to think like a leopard to bring a suitable trophy animal to the bait.
We’ll first need to find at least one perfect ‘leopardy’ tree and location to hang the bait. If we can find three or four trees, then so much the better. The tree itself needs to be fairly big with nice wide spreading limbs, not too many thorns and have some but not too much undergrowth growing at its base. This is to allow the cat somewhere to hide until he feels secure before he actually goes up the tree. It also helps to have a little bit of cover above the bait branch if possible – you can always trim this as necessary, once the cat starts feeding If the main trunk is slightly angled, then we have an added advantage as we want to make everything as easy as possible for the leopard to gain access to the bait. However, it mustn’t be so easy that other predators such as hyena and lion can get to it. (What’s that I hear you mumble, someone told you lions don’t climb trees? Don’t you believe it!) We want the tree to have a fairly open area all around it to allow us a safer follow up if it becomes necessary and we also would prefer at least a small tree or bush within 30 – 50 yards of the bait tree which we can incorporate as a natural location for a blind.
The blind location should give us a good view and sight picture of where the leopard will be laying as he eats the bait. When I’m choosing my blind site, I like if possible to locate it amongst some natural foliage and I like to take my time testing the winds by lighting a few dry elephant droppings and leaving them to smoulder in various positions. I find this helps me a lot in selecting the perfect blind site(s). Incidentally, if you have a swirling wind, I’ve also used these same ’smoke bombs’ when we actually sit for the cat, as a precaution to mask our human scent. Sounds crazy, but it’s worked for me a few times.
We also want this tree to be near some sand roads and/or dry river beds, so the cat is comfortable when he walks. Just like your domestic cat, leopards are lazy and like an easy life. We would also like the tree to be close to good, clean water. If we can’t find a spot close enough to water, we’ll resort to the first of the sneaky tricks – sinking a bucket into the soil near the bait tree and filling it with water. We can also tie a feather or two to short pieces of fishing line in suitable places to use as wind indicators and also sweep a few nearby areas to make it easy for us to check the size of the paw prints. If necessary, we’ll place a few obstructions in appropriate places to guide our quarry onto these swept areas.
If we can find two places on opposite sides and equidistant to the bait tree where we can locate the blind, then that’s also an advantage. There is usually a prevailing wind of some kind and we’ll site the blinds to suit these winds but winds can change which is why I try to have two blinds to each bait tree if possible. I like to have the blind sited across the wind rather than facing into it as there’s nothing worse than sitting for hours and having the stink of a half rotten bait blowing right into your face.
Once we’ve located a suitable tree or even better, trees, we’ll shoot a bait animal (zebra are usually particularly good and one animal can easily provide five baits) to hang from the best limb at a suitable place. Mark the branch with two small pieces of reflective tape 1.3 meters apart to use as a measuring aid for the size of the leopard. Use some of the stomach contents of our bait animal to spread around the tree limb and trunk. This not only eliminates our scent it also makes the tree very attractive to the leopard.
Then using the stomach and intestines from the bait animal(s), make drags from the bait tree to the nearest road(s) and/or dry river beds, continuing for at least a mile. If at all possible, these drags will be in at least two or three separate directions to maximise our chances of a passing leopard walking into the scent lines. I like to refresh these drags on a daily basis if possible or every other day at least.
So now we’re pretty much ready for step two of the leopard hunt which happens to be the one that drives me crazy……. We wait for Mr Spots to pass by, give his approval and start feeding. If after a few days, we’ve found his tracks near our baits but he’s ignoring them, we might consider moving the bait to a different nearby tree and if that doesn’t work, we’ll try another sneaky trick or two……. but I’m gonna keep those up my sleeve for now and you’ll just have to wait and wonder what they are! Sorry Bwana.
If we get a strike or strikes, we’ll assess the size of the tracks and decide if we might have a cat of a shootable size. If we do, then we’ll attach a trail timer to the bait to see what time the cat feeds and then we wait another day or two (if time allows) to give the cat time to get really comfortable. Cats are creatures of habit and will almost certainly come to feed at much the same time every night. When we have established his feeding pattern, we’ll build the blind(s) which are about three metres square, made of grass and poles and even if there is no moon at all, we’ll put a roof on it as well. Even starlight coming into the blind is enough to give the game away to our spotty friend. On the subject of the moon, a lot of people claim a full moon or near full moon is a problem for leopard hunting. From my experience, if you set everything up the right way, the moon phase doesn’t matter at all. I’d say that close to 50% of the leopards I’ve taken, have been at, or close to the full moon. In fact, I’ve always found a full or near to full moon, actually makes a leopard rather more helpful to us hunters. He’ll usually dine earlier and come to bait before moon rise.
All four sides of the blind will have shooting and observation holes. Most Professional Hunters only put these in the front of the blind, but I learned my lesson a couple of years ago when I had two lions fighting just one yard from the side of my blind. To add insult to injury, the winner then mated with one of his girlfriends’ right in the same spot. During all this time, we couldn’t even see anything and had to wait another two hours before we could get a shot at the lion! So now I put holes on every side of the blind and then put ‘curtains’ over all but the front holes. After we’ve built the blind(s) we’ll then place a movement detector above the bait and the receiver in the blind and also place two or three small red LED lights around the branches to give us a little illumination. We switch these on sometime during the day preceding the evening or morning before we’re scheduled to sit in the blind. Cats incidentally, don’t see red light at all. So the only things left to do is build the rifle stands into the blind and equip it with those plastic garden chairs that don’t squeak, blankets to sit on for the sake of comfort and silence and more blankets if it looks like getting cold, spotting scope for the PH, red spotlight and two way radio (turned off until we need to use it) and rifles.
On the subject of rifles, the client ideally needs something in.30 calibre or larger and fast expanding, soft point bullets. This rifle should be equipped with a scope of 4 or 6 power with a large light gathering aperture at the business end. Once everything is all set up and ready, we’ll use the rangefinders to zap the exact distance from blind to bait and measure height from bait to ground and then go elsewhere and set the clients rifle up to shoot ‘bang on’ at that exact range and height. I don’t just set a target up for this. Nowadays, I like to take a long cardboard box and draw a life size outline of a Leopard on it and then I fix a small bottle of water inside, where the cat’s heart would be. Then I’ll sit you down in a chair and set you up just as you’ll be in the bind. Then all you have to do is put three consecutive shots through the bottle of water. Only then are you ready to sit for the cat. If you can’t make those three consecutive shots on the target, then it’s not a problem……we’ll just practice until you can.
When we go into the blind, the clients rifle will be placed in the rifle rest with a round in the chamber and the safety catch ON. The rests will have been positioned in such a way that the client just leans forward into it, looks through the scope and will see the leopard.
Once everything is set up to my complete satisfaction and a couple of hours before the cat is due to arrive, or just before dark (whichever comes first) we’ll go into the blind and sit and wait quietly/read/doze. We’ll probably get some kind of audible warning of the cat’s approach. The birds and monkeys usually go crazy with alarm calls as the leopard passes and it’s usually possible to mark the cat’s progress through the bush. When that wonderful movement detector lights up, it means we have something on the branch. I’ll peep through the observation hole for a first look. We won’t rush things (so please try not to get excited) and we’ll give Mr Spots plenty of time to get comfortable. Then I’ll take a look through the spotting scope and put a red spotlight into the trees and then move it down onto the cat. If he’s shootable, I’ll reach out and squeeze your knee. This will mean you’re to get yourself comfortable and ready for the shot. IT DOESN’T MEAN SHOOT! I’ll then give you’re knee another squeeze and then remove my hand. When that happens, you can shoot anytime you like. There’s no rush, so don’t feel you have to feel hurried at all. It’s far more important that you shoot accurately rather than quickly. Please remember that you’re shooting uphill and into a three dimensional target. Imagine the skin of the animal as a glass container with the heart in the centre of that container. Aim slightly low to allow for the uphill shooting, and shoot for the heart – remember all that practice at the range. If you’ve got it right, then the next thing we’ll hear after the shot is a soggy plop as a dead leopard hits the ground. If we hear an angry growl, then it probably means we’ve got problems and may have to do a follow up. If the leopard charges then it has to be stopped at close range. If you come along on this, make sure you remove your scope beforehand. I did a follow up a while ago and shot the cat in mid air just seven yards from me. This picture shows me kneeling where the cat fell and was taken from where I shot. Now imagine it in complete darkness except for the light from a head torch. If possible, I’d like to avoid the experience.
After the shot, keep quiet and if you can still see the leopard, then try to get another bullet into him if you can. About this time, I’ll ask you how you felt about the shot and we’ll try to work out what we think happened. Then we’ll call the hunting truck on the radio and tell it we’ve shot a leopard but they should wait until we call them back before coming in. After 20-30 minutes, if nothing else happens, we’ll whistle up the truck and have them drive right up to the blind where we step quickly and quietly into it. Then we’ll drive to the bait tree and look for blood spoor or hopefully a dead leopard. If we can see the cat and he looks dead, we’ll have the tracker use a slingshot to fire a couple of stones at it. If there’s any response at all, the cat gets shot again immediately. If there’s no response, then I’ll climb down from the truck whilst the client covers me with his rifle. Once I’m certain the cat is dead, everyone can get down from the truck for photographs. If there’s any ‘trouble’ and I end up having a tussle with Mr Spots, please don’t try to shoot him from the truck as if you do, you’ll probably shoot me as well. Rather get down and get as close to the cat as you can and kill him – but please remember to try not to shoot me as well! If we end up with a wounded cat on our hands then I or possibly we will conduct a follow up tracking job in an appropriate manner – but we won’t go into that too much here as I’m sure you’ll get it right the first time anyway!
So now you have some idea of how the hunting strategy will planned on your leopard hunt and by doing so, I hope you’ll get even more pleasure from it than just being the trigger man while a bunch of strange things go on all around you. If you have any new ideas that you think might work, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m always willing to try something new and as it’s your leopard hunt and not mine, I’m always more than happy to try things your way. In closing, please remember the shot at your leopard will probably be the easiest shot of your safari – but it’s also the most important shot of your safari. So take your time, don’t get excited, pick out a rosette at which you’re going to and make sure you hit the cat in exactly the right place…
Steve ‘Shakari’ Robinson During his almost three decades of working in the African hunting industry, Steve has hunted professionally in six African countries and has a wealth of experience with dangerous game.
